No jail time projected for O’Leary: prosecution

That’s the word from the Public Prosecution of Canada, which did some backtracking this week over the possible penalties facing the wife of Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, if convicted of her alleged role in a boat crash on Lake Joseph in the summer.

O’Leary was one of two people charged by the OPP in September, after a fatal crash on Lake Joseph. Two people were killed in the crash.

She’s facing one count of careless operation of a vessel, which contravened the small vessel regulations of the Canada Shipping Act.

Richard Ruh, 57, of Orchard Park, N.Y., has also been charged with failing to exhibit navigation light while underway, in contravention of collision regulations in the Canada Shipping Act.

According to spokesperson Staff Sgt. Carolle Dionne of the OPP, speaking after the charges were announced, the maximum penalty for the careless operation charge is a fine of $1 million or 18 months imprisonment.

However, the prosecution service has now said that those penalties were a mistake, and the most O’Leary will face is a $10,000 fine with no jail time.

“After careful review of the act, the Crown determined that the PPSC’s initial position on maximum allowable penalties was not accurate,” said Nathalie Houle, a spokeswoman for the service wrote in an email sent to the National Post.

According to the paper, the PPSC is now “of the opinion that the maximum applicable penalty for a pleasure craft’s contravention of s. 1007 of the Small Vessel Regulations is $10,000.00.”

O’Leary will be appearing on October 31st in the Ontario Court of Justice in Parry Sound.

Ruh’s charge does not carry possible prison time, instead being a set fine, treated as a ticket. The National Post has reported that Ruh is fighting the charge.